1

Redeemer Bible Church

Unreserved Accountability to Christ. Undeserved Acceptance from Christ.

A Climax of the Exodus

Exodus 24:1-18

Introduction
Not too long ago I had a conversation with Jason Dailey, one of our pastoral
candidates about his rabid distaste for movies. Though he’ll watch them from time to
time, his overall feeling is, and I quote, “I can’t stand them.” I, on the other hand, am a
sucker for a good story. They rope me in every time.

Well, even though we do not share a love of films, we do share one thing in
common: we both do not like to watch a movie once it’s started.

Maybe you’re one of those people who flip through the channels, find a movie
well underway, and stop to watch it conclude—even if you’ve never seen it before.

Now I enjoy movies, but I honestly can’t understand how you can do this.
Movies, like all stories, have what’s called an exposition. The exposition of a story is
the beginning, the part that sets up who the characters are, why we should care about
them, what they’re doing, and where they’re going. Start a story at the climax, and the
climax, no matter how fantastic, and you’ll miss its force.

Well, whenever you preach through a narrative book of the Bible, like the book of
Exodus, you run into this problem. For our part, we have spent almost three years
preaching through a story that can be read by the average reader in a little over two
hours. Now we’re at chapter 24 of 40. Picking things up in Chapter 24, therefore, is a
lot like joining a movie at the climax—you’ll miss its force.

So what I’d like to do with you this morning is to reorient you to the narrative of
Exodus by retelling the story.

Retelling the Story

Through God’s providence in the ministry of Joseph in Egypt, the descendants of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have become exceedingly numerous, living in the Egyptian
land of Goshen.

When a new Pharaoh came to power, one who did not care to remember
Joseph’s work to save Egypt and make it prosperous, Israel began to suffer.

The new Pharaoh did everything he could to try to exterminate the rabbit-like
multiplication of the children of Abraham. He enslaved them, forcing them to engage in

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 2

hard labor, and still they multiplied. He tried to convince the Hebrew midwives to kill the
infant sons of their people, but they were too shrewd for him. And Israel continued to
multiply.

Finally, the new Pharaoh commanded all his people to drown every Hebrew baby
boy in the Nile, and although many died, one particular Hebrew boy survived—a boy
whose survival would mean the deliverance of his people. His name was Moses.

Ironically, Moses would be reared in Pharaoh’s house and given all the privileges
of Egyptian education and culture. But one day, Moses went out to check on the
condition of his fellow Israelites, only to find them being cruelly treated and oppressed.
In fact, he became so enraged that he killed one of the Egyptian taskmasters and buried
him in the sand, hoping to allay suspicion and cover up the murder.

But the matter became known to Pharaoh, and Moses, the Israelite, was forced
to flee for his life.

While in hiding, in exile, Moses chased a stray sheep of his father-in-law’s flock
to a mountain. There he found a bush that was on fire but was not burned up—it just
kept burning and burning. As he moved to inspect it more closely, he heard a voice call
his name from the midst of the bush saying,

“Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the
place on which you are standing is holy ground. 6 …I am the God of your father,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob….I have surely
seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their
cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have
come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them
up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and
honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the
Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 9 Now, behold, the cry of the sons of
Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the
Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Therefore, come now, and I will send you to
Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt”
(Exodus 3:5-10).

And although Moses was not at first prepared to heed God’s call, he finally
submitted himself to the Lord’s command and returned to a Pharaoh with the same
policy toward the Israelites as his predecessor.

The Lord sent Moses to Pharaoh with one message: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Let
my people go that they may worship me.’” In fact, Moses repeats this message in
essentially the same way some fourteen times!1 On behalf of the Lord, Moses tells
Pharaoh fourteen times, “Let my people go that they may worship me.”

1
Exodus 3:18; 4:23; 5:1, 3; 7:16; 8:1, 20, 26-27, 29; 9:1, 13; 10:3, 9, 25-26.

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 3

Now the worship to which the Lord was referring was worship in the desert at
Mount Sinai, the very mountain on which the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning
bush. In fact, arriving at Sinai to worship the Lord would be one of the signs indicating
to the people that the Lord had selected Moses as his ambassador before the people.
In Exodus 3:12 the Lord says, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to
you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you
shall worship God at this mountain.”

Well, after dazzling and terrifying Israel and Egypt with cataclysmic and
catastrophic plagues of judgment on the Egyptians, after parting the Red Sea and
destroying the Egyptian army in its wake, after providing food and water for Israel in the
desert, and after delivering Israel from a marauding band of Amalekites, the people
finally arrive at their first significant destination, the destination to which God promised
Moses he would bring his people—Mount Sinai.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus 19 and read the first two verses with me.
1
In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on
that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 When they set out from Rephidim,
they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel
camped in front of the mountain.

Notice how many times the wilderness and the mountain are mentioned: In the
third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very
day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. When they set out from Rephidim,
they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there
Israel camped in front of the mountain.

God promised that he would deliver his people from Pharaoh to this mountain in
the wilderness to worship him. Thus the climax of the Exodus from Egypt has nearly
arrived: the people are at the mountain in the desert and they’re about to worship the
Lord there.

Nevertheless, it is not this chapter that records that worship; it’s chapter 24. And
it’s where we find ourselves this morning—at the climax of the narrative.

Turn ahead there with me and let’s read the text together.
1
Then He said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and
Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. 2 "Moses
alone, however, shall come near to the LORD, but they shall not come near, nor shall
the people come up with him." 3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the
words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice
and said, "All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!" 4 Moses wrote down all
the words of the LORD. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot
of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 he sent young men of
the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 4

offerings to the LORD. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other
half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the book of the covenant and
read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will
do, and we will be obedient!" 8 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people,
and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you in
accordance with all these words." 9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu,
and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet
there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not
stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and
they ate and drank. 12 Now the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain
and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the
commandment which I have written for their instruction." 13 So Moses arose with Joshua
his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 But to the elders he said,
"Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you;
whoever has a legal matter, let him approach them." 15 Then Moses went up to the
mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the LORD rested on
Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to
Moses from the midst of the cloud. 17 And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the
appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. 18
Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on
the mountain forty days and forty nights.

“You Shall Worship God at This Mountain”

First, in verse 1 the Lord calls on Moses, the priests, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu,
and seventy of the elders of Israel, which represent the people in their totality, to
worship him. Verse 1: Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and
Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall
worship at a distance.”

Then in verses 9-11, we read of the glory and beauty and splendor of this
worship. Read it with me: Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and
seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His
feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet
He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they
saw God, and they ate and drank.

Here, the Lord invites the nobles of Israel to experience the wonder of his more
immediate presence. He demonstrates compassion and love and intimacy with them by
not killing them, by allowing them to see him in the beauty of his holiness, and by
consummating the experience by partaking of a fellowship meal in his presence.

Moreover, in connection with the ratification of the covenant, worship in the form
of sacrifices takes place in the second part of verse 4 and verse 5: Then he arose early
in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for
the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they
offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the
LORD.

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 5

Burnt offerings are sacrifices of atonement for sin; peace offerings are
sacrifices symbolizing the restoration of fellowship between once opposing parties. And
as you can see, the narrator makes his readers aware that both of these offerings are
made (according to verse 4) at the foot of the mountain. Thus Israel is worshipping
on the mountain according to God’s promise.

By making clear not only that Israel is at Sinai, but especially that they are
worshipping at Sinai, the narrator establishes that we have reached the fulfillment of
God’s word to Moses back in Chapter 3 and the fulfillment of God’s word to Pharaoh
throughout the plagues. We have reached the climax of Israel’s deliverance from
Egypt.

All that remains is for Israel to enter the Promised Land—an event that our
author leaves for a later installment of his epic.

In the meantime, however, the narrator wants us to understand the events of

Chapter 24 as the ideal ending to the story of God’s deliverance; for everything is as it
should be…and then some!

In fact, five elements of this chapter converge to make it the highlight of the book
as a whole. Let me share them with you.

An Ideal Ending
1. The Confirmation of the Covenant
Turn with me back to Exodus 19, and look down to verse 8.
8
All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we
will do!" And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.

Now based on our reading of Exodus 24 just a moment ago, this language
should look familiar to you. They say, All that the Lord has spoken we will do!

This, if you’ll remember turns up two more times in Chapter 24, making this the
first of three statements of covenant confirmation by the people. Turn ahead to 24:3.
3
Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD
and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the
words which the LORD has spoken we will do!"

This is the second confirmation.

The third is found in verse 7: Then Moses took the book of the covenant and
read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken
we will do, and we will be obedient!”

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 6

Now not only do the people say what they have said twice before (All that the
Lord has spoken we will do!), but they add to it these words: and we will be
obedient.

With this threefold and emphatic response to the terms of the covenant, Israel is
clearly portrayed in an ideal way. They respond exactly as they should, exactly as we
would have hoped.

2. The Vindication of Moses as the Leader of Israel

This is the second element that establishes this chapter as the ideal end to the
deliverance of Israel from Egypt.

Let me read to you from 3:12: “And [the Lord] said [to Moses], ‘Certainly I will be
with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have
brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.’”

With the arrival of the people at the mountain for worship at Sinai, Moses is
vindicated as the emissary of the Lord. It is the sign that the Lord has been with him,
and that the Lord has sent him.

This vindication is ratcheted up even more, for Moses himself worships the Lord
from the closest proximity. Notice verse 18: Moses entered the midst of the cloud as
he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty
nights.

It is Moses alone in verse 2 whom the Lord calls to be nearest to himself.

Moses is now in the presence of the Lord having an indescribable encounter of worship
with the God of all creation. Can there be any doubt that he is God’s emissary, that the
Lord is with him? I think not.

So then, here we have another element that makes this a fitting end to the
narrative. There is no doubt that Moses is called of God to lead Israel. Israel is
worshipping at Sinai. And Moses alone has entered the presence of the Lord for forty
days and forty nights.

3. “I Will Dwell Among Them”

The third and fourth aspects of Chapter 24 that make it an ideal end to Exodus
are found in verse 16. Look there with me: The glory of the LORD rested on Mount
Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to
Moses from the midst of the cloud.

The third element is tied up with the word translated rested at the beginning of
the verse.2 This is the first time in Exodus that this term is used with reference to the
Lord and it is extremely significant for what follows. Turn with me to 25:8.

2
!k;v'

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 7

8
"Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.

The word translated dwell is the same as the word rested back in 24:16. The
reason for the construction of a sanctuary—material, incidentally, that literally dominates
the rest of the book—the reason for the construction of the sanctuary is so that the
experience of Moses individually in 24:16 may be the experience of the people
generally.

In fact, Exodus 29:45-46 says that one of the reasons for delivering the Israelites
from Egypt was that the Lord might dwell among the sons of Israel as their God. Turn
there and read that text with me.
45
"I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. 46 "They shall
know that I am the LORD their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I
might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God.

Turn back to Chapter 24.

So then, not only have God’s people entered into a covenant with him, pledging
their allegiance to him, and not only do we see Moses vindicated as the leader of God
people here in Chapter 24, but we also see God himself dwelling on Mount Sinai,
making his presence known in a way that had not been experienced thus far in the
narrative. What a wonderful way to end the narrative! In accord with his purpose, God
has begun dwelling in the midst of his people!

4. The Creation of a People

Well, as I said, the fourth element of Chapter 24 that makes it the ideal end to the
exodus narrative is also found in verse 16. Read it again with me: The glory of the
LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the
seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.

This verse says that the cloud dwelt on the mountain for six days, and on the
seventh day, the Lord called Moses from the midst of the cloud to enter it.

This is an example of a literary device well-known in the ANE—the climactic use

of numbers. An action occurs for six consecutive days, and then a new event occurs on
the seventh, bringing the sixth to a climax. Identical language appears in what’s known
as Akkadian and Ugaritic literature as well as in Scripture.3

The most famous example of this language is in the narrative of creation. In six
days God created the heavens and the earth (including mankind) and on the seventh
day he rested from the work of his creation, entering the climax of the creative week—
the seventh day, the Sabbath. It is on the seventh day that the Lord rests in the
enjoyment and contemplation of all that he has made.

3
Nahum M Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus (JPS, 1991), 154.

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 8

So then, what does this teach us about the six days, seventh day language of
verse 16? Well, at the very least it implies first that Moses ascent into the cloud is a
climactic event—that much is obvious.

But more than that, it seems that we should also in some way connect this
chapter with creation. The events of Sinai are creational events.

Now then, we may ask, “In what sense are these events creational?” Well, allow
me to suggest that what God creates at Sinai is a nation—the nation of Israel.

Turn back with me to Exodus 19:4-6.

4
'You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on
eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. 5 'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice
and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for
all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'
These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel."

Now then, it is only after the ratification of the covenant that Israel becomes
God’s own possession among all the peoples, a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation. By the ratification of the covenant a people is created.

This is as it should be. Through the covenant, God promised to make them a
special people, a people in his image, a holy nation. And that is what they now are.

5. A Future and a Hope

The fifth and final aspect of our text that sets it apart as the ideal ending of
Israel’s deliverance from Egypt is that it depicts Israel on the verge of a wonderful
future.

Notice first of all verse 13: So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and
Moses went up to the mountain of God.

Now that’s a surprise—a reference to Joshua. The last we saw of him, he was
leading God’s people in a successful military campaign against the Amalekites in
Chapter 17. Exodus 17:13 says that Joshua “overwhelmed Amalek and his people with
the edge of the sword.”

Keep that in mind as we reread verse 14: But to the elders he said, “Wait here
for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever
has a legal matter, let him approach them.” There’s another surprise—Hur is
mentioned.

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 9

The last time we encountered Hur was strangely enough in Chapter 17 as well.
Hur was with Aaron holding up Moses’ arms during Israel’s battle with the Amalekites.4

So the question is this: why mention Joshua and Hur out of the blue here in
Chapter 24? Well, think about the last time they were mentioned. The last time we
encountered Joshua and Hur good things happened to Israel. The Lord used both of
them as instruments to bring about the defeat of the Amalekites.

Thus I would suggest that their mention here in Chapter 24 is meant to signal the
same thing—not, however, the defeat of a particular army, but more generally, that
good things are on the horizon for the people of God.

But there is another element of this morning’s passage that is used to indicate
that Israel has a bright future. Notice the reference to Nadab and Abihu in verses 1 &
9.
1
Then He said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and
Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance”
9
Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders
of Israel

Though I doubt you will remember this, the last time we ran into Nadab and
Abihu was in the genealogy of Chapter 6.5 Nadab and Abihu are the offspring of
Aaron, the high priest, thus they represent the future of the priesthood. In this
connection, we can also add Joshua, who represents Israel’s future as well. He is the
one who will lead God’s people in their conquest of Canaan.

So then, the mention of characters of success (Joshua and Hur) as well as

characters of the future (Nadab, Abihu, and Joshua) indicates that Israel’s future is
indeed bright.

In fact, according to Chapter 24 everything is great about Israel’s condition: they

are worshipping the Lord in fulfillment of his promise, the people have pledged their
absolute loyalty to the Lord, Moses has been vindicated as God’s emissary to the
people, the Lord is dwelling in the midst of his people, Israel has become a nation by
God’s creation, and they have a future and a hope.

Everything is as it should be. All is well in the world of men.

But Not the Real Ending

But in spite of all this marvelous reality, all is not as it would seem. There is a
portent, a grim specter of things to come that is found in verse 14 that subtly
undermines what appears to be the ideal ending to an amazing story. Read it with me:

4
See 17:10.
5
See 6:23.

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 10

But to the elders he said, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold,
Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, let him approach them.”

Notice especially the phrase until we return to you. Do you remember what
happens when Moses and Joshua return?

Turn ahead to 32:1-6.

1
Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the
mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god
who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of
Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." 2 Aaron said to them, "Tear off the
gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring
them to me." 3 Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and
brought them to Aaron. 4 He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving
tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, "This is your god, O Israel, who
brought you up from the land of Egypt." 5 Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar
before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the
LORD." 6 So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace
offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

After what appears to be a little less than forty days and nights, the people under
Aaron’s leadership engage in blatant idolatry, breaking the first, second, and third
commandments.

What a contrast to the events of Chapter 24!

Rather than expressing loyalty (All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and
we will be obedient!) the people commit spiritual adultery.

And the contrast couldn’t be starker. Notice in particular what the people do in
verse 6: So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought
peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

They offer precisely the same offerings to the golden calf as they did at their
covenant-keeping ceremony—burnt offerings and peace offerings!

This is what Moses and Joshua return to! They return to the people offering
sacrifices to idols and rising up to play, which is probably a reference to sexual
immorality in worship of the deity.

If only Chapter 24 were the end of the exodus narrative! It certainly is ideal. The
only problem is that it’s not real. The real end of the narrative is that the people, their
elders and priests break their covenant with Yahweh.

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 11

All of the blessings of the Old Covenant are not enough to maintain the people’s
loyalty to the Lord. Israel could not hang on to their ideal ending—they threw it away in
forty days and forty nights.

Ideal in Christ
And yet, what Israel could not realize, under the Old Covenant, we have
experienced in Christ. Israel’s ideal ending is fulfilled in the person and ministry and
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think of it:

ƒ We have experienced deliverance of which the exodus from Egypt is only the
shadow. We have been set free from sin and the devil.
ƒ We have entered into a better covenant with God, based on better promises,
through the shedding of better blood.
ƒ While we, like Israel, are blessed for our obedience, unlike Israel we can never
break the new covenant—because Jesus Christ is our righteousness.
ƒ We have the one about whom Moses wrote, the one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus. The instrument of God’s ultimate deliverance
belongs to us.
ƒ Through Christ we experience God’s presence as never before in the history of
the world—to see Jesus is to see the Father; for no one has seen God at any
time.
ƒ We have experienced a re-creation greater than the constitution of Israel as a
nation—we have been born again! “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of
darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
ƒ And we have a hope and a future that far surpasses life in the land of Canaan. In
Christ we “have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and
church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all,
and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a
new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of
Abel” (Hebrews 12:22-24).

Because of Christ we enjoy the fulfillment of Israel’s ideal ending.

Real with Christ

And yet, because of sin, we often also experience Israel’s real ending. We, too,
forsake the Lord for idols.

Like Israel we run to the idols of our hearts, which are simply the things we live
for and long for other than the Lord: the comfort of financial security, the acclaim and
praise of others, being attractive and appealing to the opposite sex, a big house and a
flat screen TV, sex, vacations, food, fun, obedient children, our own home, another
child, an afternoon on the deck—whatever.

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 12

The idols of our hearts do not have to be evil in and of themselves in order to be
idols. As I’ve said, idols are things we live for and long for other than the Lord. And it is
clear by our behavior, by what makes us get up in the morning, by what our world
revolves around, by our fears and desires, that we all too often lay our offerings on the
altar of our false gods.

Even we—upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1 Corinthians 10:11)—
even we who have experienced in Christ the ideal ending of Exodus 24—even we
succumb to the real ending of Exodus 32. Sin is real in the Christian life, and it will not
be completely overthrown in us until the consummation at the Last Day.

In the meantime, we cannot look on Israel with disgust until we are prepared to
look on ourselves in the same way, until we see how quickly we embrace the false
promises of our idols.

Sin Says “No” to Joy

But more importantly, what we learn from the contrast between Exodus 24 and
32 is that when we run recklessly toward our idols, we do not simply run to something,
we run from something.

In order for Israel to embrace the golden calf, they must forsake the Lord their
God. Put differently, in order to embrace their real ending, they must forsake their ideal
ending.

And it is this that is extremely significant for our battle with sin.

When we sin, when we live for or long for something or someone other than the
glory of God, we necessarily must throw away the privileges and joys and pleasures of
God in Christ. You can never embrace the passing pleasures of sin without also
passing up the permanent pleasures of God.

So look at your sin differently from this day forward. When you sin, you miss out.
You miss out on something better, more glorious, something greater and more truly
enjoyable. To enjoy something illicit is to reject something beautiful and glorious and
wonderful.

In order to look at our sin differently, we need to believe that a day in his courts is
better than a thousand outside. It is! We need to believe that in him is fullness of joy
and in his right hand are pleasures forevermore. We need to believe that the Lord has
put more gladness in our heart than when their grain and new wine abound.

We need to remember that all of the privileges and benefits of the ideal ending of
the exodus narrative are shadows of the substance which belongs to us in Jesus Christ.

Don’t think about your sin simply as something you do. Think of it as something
that prevents you doing something else—something that is vastly superior.

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn

 13

You and I, as children of the new covenant, have power to say no to sin. Amen?
We have power to say no to sin. But even better is that we have been set free to say
yes to righteousness. We can be holy. And to be holy is to be happy! Truly happy.

I am astonished at how often I forget this. All too often I think of my sins as bad
things I need to stop doing—and they are bad and I do need to stop doing them. But
why? Because they dishonor God? Yes. But why would I want to honor God in the
first place? Why would I want to glorify him? Because I love to, I enjoy it. In fact, I
enjoy it so much more than I enjoy indulging the desires of my flesh.

Now don’t be put off by what I’ve said. Living for God’s glory and my own
happiness are not at all incompatible. For Christians they are one and the same. Man’s
chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

So don’t turn your backs on your own joy! If you want to be happy—live for his
glory. And remember that every time you turn your face toward your Exodus 32 ending,
you are necessarily turning your back on your Exodus 24 ending. Go for the ideal
ending in Jesus Christ to the glory of God. Amen.

Redeemer Bible Church

16205 Highway 7
Minnetonka, MN 55345
Office: 952.935.2425
Fax: 952.938.8299
info@redeemerbiblechurch.com
www.redeemerbiblechurch.com
www.solidfoodmedia.com

Exodus 24:1-18: A Climax of the Exodus © 2006 by R W Glenn